by Tina Leonard
Jackie looked at him. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Is there a better time than the present? I’m wearing my best jeans. You’ve got a dress. My chariot can take us there.” He pounded on the dashboard. “It’ll be as romantic as running off to Hawaii.”
“It won’t.”
“I think it will be. And Callahan is a sweet last name. You might as well give in, Jackie. Remember when you told me there was no need to buy the steer if you could get the steak for free?”
“Yes,” Jackie said, blowing her nose, “but now I’m not going to be getting any steak, according to the doctor.”
“All the more reason to go ahead and reserve the steer for later.” He kissed her cheek, and then her lips. “You can’t resist me, Jackie. And those little girls are going to want to know they’re fully claimed Callahan.”
“I don’t know, Pete. There’s an awful lot to marriage besides having kids. My parents nearly got divorced when my dad went through malepause. It’s bad when the parents aren’t entirely suited to each other. The kids suffer.” She looked at him. “Marriage is a very serious thing. You can’t approach it like a rodeo, all just ride and hang on.”
“Sure, that’s exactly what it is. You can hang on to me for dear life.” He snapped his fingers. “I knew I was forgetting something. I forgot to ask your father for permission to marry you.”
He looked so upset that Jackie smiled. “You can ask him later, when we say our vows at your ranch. I always thought that if we did get married, I would love to do it at your family’s ranch.”
“Oh.” Pete looked out the window for a second. “I don’t know. Ranch weddings are kind of overdone. Eloping sounds a whole lot more spontaneous and romantic. Don’t you think?” He looked at her eagerly.
She sighed. “I give in.”
“Whee-hoo!” Pete yelled, punching the air with his fist. “I knew you couldn’t wait to be my bride, Jackie, though you played hard to get. Awfully hard to get. Pfew.” He didn’t want to think about that anymore. She’d agreed, and that was all that mattered. He pulled out his phone. “Now,” he said, punching some buttons, “let’s see how far we have to drive to get someone to marry us on the spot. I hope you have the money for this. It’s bound to be expensive.”
“Pete,” Jackie said, laughing.
“Well, I’m not cheap. And there’s still the matter of your house. If you’re going to be on bed rest, I’ll have to pick out the new house. Well, what do you know?” he said with satisfaction, “we can get married right here in Santa Fe. Actually, we could get married back in Diablo, but why wait? There’s no blood test, you just need your license, social security number and twenty-five bucks. Do you have twenty-five bucks to buy me a marriage license?” He glanced over at her. “No? Lucky for you, I brought some spare change just in case.”
“You planned this,” Jackie said, and he grinned.
“Come on,” Pete said. “Let’s find a willing justice.”
“Hang on a sec,” Jackie said, “you should know I have no intention of moving.”
“You just sit over there and imagine three girls fighting over one bathroom, and us waiting our turns, while I find the justice of the peace. I talked to one this morning who thought she had plenty of room in her schedule.”
“Is this your version of sweeping me off my feet?”
Pete grinned. “Consider this my first act of sweeping, just like the doctor suggested.”
“I don’t think that’s what he had in mind when he said you’d have to cook and clean.”
“That’s okay,” Pete said, “you just visualize yourself into that so-called magic wedding gown, and let me take care of everything.”
THE WEDDING DRESS fitted like, well, magic. Jackie looked at herself in the mirror, admiring the tiny crystal beads and sequins delicately placed on the white satin. It was the most lovely gown she’d ever seen. She did feel magical. Pete had overthought the situation as usual, slipping a pair of Cinderella-awesome shoes into the bag he’d “just happened to pick up” along with a darling bouquet of white roses he grabbed at a florist’s. Jackie felt like a princess, and the glow in Pete’s eyes told her she looked like one, too.
They stood in front of the justice, and Pete’s voice didn’t even shake when he said “I do.” Jackie’s knees were knocking together, but Pete was steady as a rock, his big hand holding hers. He kissed her before, during and after the ceremony, and the justice later said she’d never seen a man so eager to get his ring on.
The ring Pete surprised her with brought tears to Jackie’s eyes. It was platinum, with two oval diamonds on it. “I’ll get you another diamond to match, now that we know we’re having three little girlies,” he told her, and all Jackie could do was smile at Pete like she’d never smiled in her life.
He insisted on carrying her over the threshold of the courthouse. Jackie let him because he was so excited about it.
“Aren’t you disappointed about not having a boy? You already bought boots.”
“I’ll take them back for some ladylike pink ropers.” Pete shrugged, and she thought maybe he wasn’t too terribly upset not to be getting at least one boy, since boys were all he’d talked about from the moment he’d learned he was going to be a dad. “We’ll have boys next time,” Pete said.
Jackie groaned. “You’re still working on the bet.”
“Nope,” he said, “that was one of Fiona’s scams.” Pete looked at her strangely. “Did I forget to tell you?”
Her heart sank. “Tell me what?”
“Oh.” Pete laughed, sounding a bit embarrassed. “Keep this under your hat, but apparently we’ve lost the ranch.”
Jackie blinked, unable to comprehend what Pete was telling her. He couldn’t be so blithe about something so huge. “Pete, what are you talking about?”
He sighed. “This is probably something I should have brought up before now. I got so carried away with the babies, and planning a wedding—”
“Pete. What happened?” Nervous tremors began tickling Jackie.
“I don’t know exactly. I just know that getting us all married with families was a scheme on Fiona’s part because the ranch is gone. History.” He looked at her. “I’m sorry, Jackie. I should have told you before—”
“How can it be gone? As in, she sold it?”
“No.” He shrugged. “Some convoluted problem involving Bode Jenkins. He convinced some higher-ups to declare our land for a highway. Fiona persuaded the state that a better route could be found, and thought she’d warded off Bode’s land grab. By then, the state had already determined that it should be bought by them, and the final result is that it will end up in Bode’s hands. Kind of like when a certain big executive decided he wanted the city to build a big football stadium in Texas, and influenced the state that the people living nearby should have to sell and move. The state may have utilized right of eminent domain to make the people move, but everyone knows who really owns the property.” Pete shrugged again. “Fiona says she feels responsible, but all I can see that she did wrong is that she should have come to us, not that I know what we could have done to change the outcome.”
“That’s terrible! I am so sorry, Pete.” Jackie couldn’t imagine anyone taking her house and her little half acre. She’d paid for it with her own hard-earned cash and smarts, and she was pretty certain she’d have to be dragged off her property before anybody took it from her. “Where will the Callahans go now?”
“Fiona didn’t say expressly, but I have a hunch that she’s counting on Jonas to buy acreage east of here. He’s wanting a spread, and we could move operations there. She sort of hinted around about it, although she didn’t mention it to him. I’m the only Callahan she’s told, and she doesn’t want the others to know right now.” He sighed. “But I should have told you, Jackie.”
“Yes, you should have,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry, Pete. I didn’t know the Callahans were losing their livelihood.”
“We’re not,” h
e said, then he frowned. “Well, I guess we are. I never thought of it that way.” He brightened. “Let’s go back to being happily married. I got a great girl, and you got a perfect guy.” He carried her to his truck, and Jackie waited for the inevitable comment she knew was coming.
Pete didn’t disappoint her.
“Good thing we got married today,” he said, pretending to huff as he set her down. “I won’t be able to carry you in a few days, my sweet.”
“Not so perfect, after all,” Jackie said, but Pete just smiled.
“Let’s go put you in bed,” he said. “I’m kind of looking forward to a captive audience.”
Jackie shook her head at Pete and stared out the window as they drove away from the justice’s. She couldn’t help feeling some of the day’s brightness steal away from her. Maybe she was still in shock over having triplets. Certainly she’d been so stunned that she’d willingly gotten married. Jackie gazed down at her lovely gown, and her beautiful ring and then glanced over at her new husband—a man who had somehow forgotten to tell her a huge new development in his life. She’d been worried that he was marrying her because of the bet between the brothers—now she wondered what else Pete was keeping from her.
He hadn’t forgotten to tell her. Somehow she knew he hadn’t wanted her to know.
Chapter Sixteen
Three months later, Jackie marveled at the amount of change that had taken over her life, her body and her husband.
“Pete won’t leave me for more than an hour,” Jackie complained to Darla, “and even then, he wants Fiona to be here to keep an eye on me.” She held up a baby bootie she was knitting, a pink, not-ready-for-prime-time first attempt. “Fiona is teaching me to knit, but she says I’m pulling the yarn too tightly. She says I’m tense.” Jackie put the bootie down and looked at Darla’s sympathetic face. “I’m not complaining. It’s just it’s a beautiful day outside, and I want to be anywhere but in this recliner.”
Pete had installed a leather recliner in the house, her “princess chair” he called it. She didn’t feel like a princess. “I underestimated my husband’s enthusiasm for keeping me in a prone position.”
Darla handed her the week’s sales numbers. “That will make you feel better.”
Jackie cast her gaze over the numbers, glad to be talking business instead of baby for a moment. “Why are the sales up so much?”
“It’s spring. When a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love?”
Jackie wrinkled her nose. Pete hadn’t mentioned anything lately about love. He had been asking her lots of questions, most of them had to do with how she felt—if she had any aches or pains, could she feel the babies kicking, did she want him to make a run for ice cream. “I want to give you the magic wedding dress to sell.”
Darla handed her a glass of water and sat down cross-legged on the sofa nearest her. Fanny begged to sit in Darla’s lap, and Darla scooped her up. “I know you’re not allowed on the furniture,” she told Fanny, “so be still for Aunt Darla and don’t do anything that gets us both in trouble.” She looked back at Jackie. “We can sell the magic wedding dress in a flash. But won’t Pete be upset if you don’t keep it? Aren’t you supposed to redo vows again later?”
Jackie shook her head. “I don’t need to redo anything. The first time was fine.”
“You said you were in shock and can’t remember much except Pete kissing you practically the entire ceremony.” Darla giggled. “I would have liked to see that. Anyway, you promised I’d be your maid of honor.”
“Did I?” Jackie wrinkled her brows. “I’m pretty sure once was enough for me. Why don’t you wear the dress next?”
“Not me.” Darla sighed. “I have no one who wants to kiss me breathless at an altar.”
Jackie thought Judah was crazy if he couldn’t see that Darla was the greatest girl in Diablo. Perfect for him, if he could only pull his head out—
“Anyway,” Darla said, interrupting Jackie’s not-so-nice thoughts, “I still think Pete would want you to be sentimental about the gown since he went out of his way to get it for you.”
“He has a romantic side I never expected,” Jackie admitted. “But Sabrina told me that the gown isn’t to be kept. The magic has to move on.”
Darla petted Fanny, her fingers kneading the border collie’s back and stomach. Fanny lay stretched out across Darla, sucking up all the attention she could. “Do you think Sabrina really believes all that airy-fairy stuff she spouts?”
“Does it matter? I wouldn’t want to be responsible for clogging up the magic or whatever.”
“Have you told Pete?”
“Pete doesn’t believe in magic,” Jackie said. “He’d scoff at the idea.”
“I meant, have you told Pete you’re going to get rid of the dress?”
“No.” Jackie shifted in the chair. “There are only so many hours in a day.”
Darla laughed. “All of which you spend flat on your back, usually getting your feet rubbed or your belly oiled by your prince of a husband.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” Jackie didn’t want to discuss the dress with Pete. “Will you take it to the dry cleaners for me?”
Darla hesitated. “I’ll be happy to. Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of it?”
“I told you,” Jackie said, “Sabrina told me the dress’s magic is in the giving.”
“I don’t know,” Darla said. “This feels like making stock investments based on fortune cookies or something.”
“It’s probably a pregnancy thing. But I want to do what Sabrina says.”
“Fine by me. But what if someone had bought it that wanted to keep it?”
“I guess the magic would have just stayed wrapped up with it in the bag.” Jackie couldn’t explain it—she knew she’d sound too fanciful—but she had felt magical when she’d worn the dress. There had never been a second of doubt that when Pete gave it to her, it was a fairy-tale moment. “Why are people so silly about these things? I wouldn’t expect Pete to keep the pair of jeans he was wearing when we got married.”
Darla got up and rummaged around in Jackie’s cabinet for a bottle of wine. “Can I get you a wineglass of organic apple juice?”
Jackie would have liked the wine. But that was several months away. “Yes, thank you. And don’t change the subject.”
“I’m not changing the subject.” Darla handed her a glass of juice. “Maybe I will take the gown for myself, since you seem sure it really is magic. I could use a Cinderella affair in my life.”
“Very selfish of you to hoard magic,” Jackie said, nodding, “I approve.”
Darla grinned. “It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
Jackie nodded, and sipped her juice. “We could give it a year.”
“A year. I don’t know, Jackie. I want Judah to fall in love with me, not some creep.”
Jackie smiled, thinking about Pete and getting warm all over. “I’m sleeping every night with a big hunky cowboy now. It’s worth a shot.”
Darla sighed. “With my luck, all I’ll catch will be geeks who live with their mothers and whose only social interaction is playing games on the internet.”
“Think positive,” Jackie said. “A few months ago, I was still working at the hospital and wondering if Pete and I had a future.” Which seemed strange now, because she couldn’t imagine not getting her hands on him every night. His protective streak got on her nerves, but that was all about the babies. Once she was out of this chair, he’d go back to being normal.
Maybe she didn’t want normal with Pete.
“One year,” Darla said. “That would take a lot of positive thinking. And a haircut. Maybe some clothes. A trip to Victoria’s Secret.” She handed Fanny to Jackie. “So, where’s the dress?”
PETE WALKED IN five minutes after Darla left. He glanced around. “Where’s Darla?”
“She had a few things to do.” Jackie smiled up at her big cowboy. “How’s the ranch?”
Pete ignored her question. “She�
�s supposed to stay here until I get back.”
Jackie frowned. “I have a phone, Pete. I don’t need babysitting.”
“It’s not babysitting.” Pete put Fanny outside. “I want someone with you at all times.”
Jackie’s frown deepened. “That isn’t going to always be possible. Anyway, I’m fine.”
“I know you are.” Pete’s face was slightly ashen. “I just want someone with you. Or I will be here.”
There were times when he wasn’t quite the prince he aspired to be. Jackie sighed. “Come over here and kiss me, you big ape, or I’ll send you out for ice cream at midnight.”
He kissed her, and magic that had nothing to do with a wedding dress stole over Jackie. She looked up at Pete, her gaze longing. “When I get out of this chair, you better be ready to be an eager husband.”
Pete kissed her again, stealing her breath with his attention to detail. Her entire body heated up in places that remembered how good he felt.
“Oh, boy,” Pete said, pulling away from her reluctantly. “I think I’ll go shower.”
Jackie smiled. “A shower wouldn’t be too taxing on me, I’m sure. And there are things I can do for you—”
“No.” Pete backed away from her chair. “The visiting nurse says you’re going to have some type of IV if you keep getting those cramps. Something to help keep the babies inside.”
All the warmth left Jackie. It was the first time he’d ever backed away from her in any way—ever. “I know how to take care of myself.”
“I know. I know.” He sat down on the sofa, a good five feet away from her. “I have baby nerves. Fiona says they’ll pass. And I hope they do soon. I think I’m about to wear everyone out, including Sam. And that’s not easy, let me tell you.”
“Easygoing Sam?” Jackie wanted her husband in her arms right now, but it was clear that wasn’t happening. So she tried to follow Pete’s lead and adopt nonchalance. “Tell me ranch gossip if you’re not going to let me do wifelike things to you in the shower.”
Pete gulped. She smiled at him, the picture of innocence. “Wifelike things?”
